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Wednesday, November 30, 2016

2016
has been quite the year for pulses in the food and dietary supplement industry.
The UN General Assembly declared 2016 the
International Year of the Pulse and
since then, the industry has gone nuts (1). Companies and startups have
innovated pulses into snacks, chips, cereals, pastas, and many other forms of
common foods (Banza Pasta, Maya Kaimal Chickpea Chips, My
Vega Pea Protein, Brami Snacking Beans, and Tolerant Foods
Legume Pastas). At 2016 IFT, “Made with Pulses”, a new logo developed by
the Global Pulse Confederation, was launched to help food and beverage
manufactures increase consumer awareness and the use of various pulses given the
increase in our diet. Some companies are already on board to use the logo on
their brands, few of which are expected to hit the shelves at the end of 2016 (2).

Pulses are classified under legumes and members
of the Leguminosae family as beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas and are known
to be rich in amino acids along with having a high protein content (3). Certain
pulses when mixed and eaten with grains such as rice are considered a complete
protein. These ingredients have been used for many years through many cultures,
namely it’s heavy use in Indian cuisine for thousands of years as a source of
meatless protein. The term “pulse” includes all legumes (mainly soybeans,
peanuts, and green beans and peas) except those that are used for oil
extraction and green beans for consumption. The Food and Agriculture
Organization division of the United Nations classifies 11 pulses as “primary”
with the most common ones seen on US grocery shelves as kidney beans, pinto
beans, mung beans, dry peas, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, and lentils (4).

Some common pulse products seen on the markets, aside from
the dried beans themselves and dried pea snack are powdered pea-protein to
replace whey and snacking products, mainly in the form of chips. Pea-protein
has gained considerable attention and growth in recent years, and a 2016 market
analysis report by Research and Markets reported that North America is the largest market
accounting for 35% of global consumption, followed by Europe at 33% (5). Fresh
peas and legumes themselves are consumed heavily in Asia, but the supplemental protein
segment of this market is still growing. From a global standpoint, the
forecasted compounded average growth rate is 8.83% from the end of 2016 to 2020
if others markets continue to grow and companies innovate further to meet the
needs of different markets (6). Driving innovation in this category are mainly start-ups
that are focusing on the individual pulse ingredient as the trend for
animal-free products grows into different categories of food. Large companies,
like Morning Star, known for their veggie patties and other “hamburger-like”
food products, are also using a variety of pulses in their formulas and are
even making pulses the main ingredient in some products. According to a survey
by ingredient company, Ingredion, 34% increase of American household purchases
related to pulse ingredients was in conjunction with a 74% increase in new
pulse product launches from 2010 to 2014, and the number of new products keeps
growing (7).

Growth in this category can also be attributed to the increasing
social awareness of healthy living. With an increase in healthy eating trends,
convenience is vital given the perception of difficulty and expense associated
with eating well, the FAO declaring 2016 as the year of pulses to drive
innovation helps increase consumer awareness. Consumers need to be eased into
eating well into order to sustain the habit of eating well. By introducing
pulse products through familiar means, allows for easier consumer acceptance in
the long term. Innovative examples of the brands that have capitalized on this
are: Hippeas and
their organic chickpea puffs, Brami’s lupine bean snacks, Other Bean hummus,
Beanitos’s variety of different bean chips, and Banza, whose line of chickpea
pastas range from penne to spaghetti. There are many more brands that are
making cereals, snack bars, gluten/bread replacement products, and many sports
performance supplement brands developing better vegetarian based protein than
the large amounts of pea protein in the market (7).

As appetites change and food trends come and go one thing
that remains certain for the next few years is the need for convenient and
healthy food. A relativity new need that’s gained a lot of investors and
traction in 2016 was the use of pulses in food products for added nutritional
and health benefits. Another need is using pulses in animal-free products that
try to mimic properties of meat products, like vegetarian burgers, and chicken
alternatives as well as its use in the sports nutrition industry an alternative
to whey protein. As stated by the
UN General Assembly, 2016 is the International
Year of the Pulse and the industry reacted
with a plethora of products. However, since there are a variety of pulses, it’s
safe to assume that many more companies innovating on this front will release
products incorporating them. As we close out this year, the industry looks to
2017 to see how this trend will take shape into the following year and what new
pulse ingredients will be used as innovation in this category grows.

Monday, November 28, 2016

The big holiday season is just around the corner, and we all
should be planning how we are going to prepare all the big meals. If you want
to try something different for Christmas or New Year’s Eve, maybe having a
local holiday meal might be a good idea. But, what is a local holiday meal? To answer
this question, we can use Thanksgiving as an example. First let’s imagine that
we are in 1621, and we are planning to celebrate the First
Thanksgiving Meal.

So, let’s think… would we be able to go to the supermarket
and buy stuff? – No! We must harvest our vegetables and hunt our meat. Some of
us will go with some of the Plymouth colonist and hunt birds, others will go
with some Wampanoag Indians and hunt deer. Others will stay and harvest corn
and pumpkin and collect some seafood like, lobsters. As far as we know,
according to the Thanksgiving
History, we would not have ovens nor ingredients from England, so we would
have to stay local and use Native American ingredients such as, molasses,
herbs, onions and nuts and used other cooking methods like roasting over a
smoldering fire.

In 1621, Turkey wasn’t the main dish, because the Plymouth
colonist returned from hunting with other birds such as, goose, swan and duck.
However, turkey was indeed a common food between the Pilgrims and the Indians,
it was a wild plentiful bird in the region. One of the main reasons to have a
Thanksgiving celebration at that time was to celebrate the first autumn harvest.
Local grown vegetables were served at the table, carrots, corn, potatoes (white
and sweet) and beans. Lots of indigenous fruits, especially whole cranberries,
were used for the First Thanksgiving Meal, no sauces were made. And of course,
Pumpkins! However, due to the lack of butter and wheat flour, no pie was
prepared.

Ok, this might have been a little too local, but we get the
idea, let’s get back to the present. Today, a local Thanksgiving will require us
to get ingredients that are produced close to where are sold, and knowing where
our food comes from. To centralize in a specific region all the activities
related to food production, processing, distributing and marketing is what
typically makes local
food systems. However, the term is not universally defined and depends on
consumer perspective. But, why we want to do buy
local?

There are many reasons to buying local, maybe the most
common is to secure freshness of products. However, the more important point
related to Thanksgiving and other holidays is supporting our local economy. Supporting
local farms, which usually start as small family farms, grow, process and
distribute locally to help stimulate local and rural economies. Unlikely large
industrial farms, most local farms run according to sustainable
standards, which in a very general way means, not damaging the environment
or threatening human or animal health. Buying local not only gives us the
opportunity of knowing where our food comes from, it also can give us the
advantage of knowing the farmer (the producer), ask questions and educate
ourselves about how our food is produces, all face to face. There is also a
USDA initiative that uses consumer interest in where their food comes from and
help farmers and ranchers to expand their market opportunities: the Know Your Farmer,
Know Your Food (KYF). More importantly, it can bring us together with our
community and feel more connected with our food.

So, let’s get back to the main question, how to have a local
holiday meal? Here are some tips that you might know or not, to ensure where
your food comes from:

1.Get to the farmer’s market!

Direct from the farm to the consumer, this is what a
farmer’s market is all about. This will be the best opportunity to get to know
the farmer or producer of your food and ask all the questions you might have.
Going to a local farmer’s market can be a very fun experience. You can find
almost everything and more that you might not have think of. From veggies to
cheese, even wine! If you prepare with time and search all your closest
farmer’s markets you may be able to find everything for your traditional
holiday dishes, at affordable prices. There is a USDA,
Local Food Directory, that can help you find all the national farmers
market regardless of what part of the country you are.

2.Finds stores that have local produce!

If you are not able to catch your closest famer’s market,
don’t worry! You can still find local produce. Big well known stores such as Whole Foods Market, have
locally grown, raised and produced. Their definition of local varies according to
their stores. But, for example, California is divided by areas, which makes it
more specific to find products from closest areas. Here you may also be able to
get everything for the big celebration, even a local raised turkey, for
Thanksgiving. However, because it is a big standardized store, you might spend
more money.

3.Hunt a Turkey! – not really…

Although this might be a really option for people that are
into hunting, and there certainly are some areas
according to the state where you find and hunt turkey. There is another
option. There are some stores where you can find a local free-range heritage turkey,
and there is even a store
finder from the Mary’s free-range Turkey, which also gives you information
about preparation and cooking advises. You might also be interested in
searching for local farms that have turkeys available, however, you might
require reservation to get a turkey, especially on Thanksgiving. Turkey is not
the only one meat that you can find locally. Searching in the USDA KYF web site
might help you find what you are looking for. Also, don’t forget to ask on the
farmer’s market.

4.Get seasonal!

If you are not able to get to the farmer’s market or whole
foods, you can at least make an effort to buy seasonal products. Luckily for
you, must of Thanksgiving dishes are made with seasonal
products, like Pumpkins! You might increase your chances of getting ingredients
that are grown local by buying only seasonal products.

5.Grow and raise your own!

This might sound a little crazy, but if you have a big yard
with a lot of free space, you may be interest on start a new hobby. Growing
your own veggies, and even raise
your own turkey! Can be a great project to share with family and friends,
it not only will save you lots of money, but also will give you great
satisfaction knowing that you are producing your own food. However, this will
require a lot of preparation and planning, even from one year before. But, well
still an option!

We cannot get back to 1621 to ensure a 100% local meal, however,
we have some options that can help us get as local as we want. Let’s get to
know our local farmers and eliminate the gap between us and our food. Food has
always been an opportunity of bringing people together. Thanksgiving,
Christmas, New Year’s Eve and any other holiday, are the perfect occasion to
reconnect with our food and express gratitude by supporting our local
economies.

So the
next time all you wine connoisseurs decide to host Wine Wednesday, save your
money. To be exact save your average
of $1.23, which is how much more consumers are willing to pay extra
just to avoid added sulfites. You may need that extra cash for the Advil and coconut
water to get rid of your alcohol-induced headache.